THINGS ARE NOT AS THEY APPEAR Appearance vs. Reality John Secord-Eden Andrew Sneddon

INTRODUCTION In Shakespeare’s play Macbeth, there are many elements of appearance vs. reality. Throughout the play foreshowing examples are used to convey Macbeth’s guilty conscience and how his prophecies are not turning out as expected. As things become more and more difficult it is a journey to stay alive. For instance, Macbeth has a vision where he sees a floating dagger and Lady Macbeth imagines having blood on her hands she can’t wash off. Another example of appearance vs. reality is that Duncan believes that Macbeth is his ally, when really he is a traitor who desires to take Duncan's position as king. Lastly, the witches have foretold a fake prophecy and tricked Macbeth into believe his fortune would come true. They set him up for failure, making him believe his future was friendly and all would work out as planned. When really, in the end it cost him his own life.

BANQUO

MACBETH AND LADY MACBETH’S VISIONS Macbeth is consumed in the thought of murdering Duncan and it leads him to have realistic visions. During Macbeth’s soliloquy he imagines seeing a dagger in front of him. The dagger represents the murder weapon of Duncan. It is a vision that foreshadows the play and represents appearance vs. reality. “Is this a dagger I see before him, toward my hand (II.I.44).” This represents the dagger that Macbeth sees before him and is the murder weapon used to kill Duncan. Lady Macbeth also has a vision because of her guilty conscience. She imagines that she has blood all over her hands and that it will not come off. This represents the blood of Duncan they drew when they murdered him and how she is caught “guilty handed.” “Who would have known the old man had so much blood in him (I.V.11).” This refers to the visions of Duncan’s blood on her hands and how there is so much she has to clean all the time. These are examples of how guilt affects the characters.

LADY MACBETH VISION

MACBETH AND DUNCAN At the beginning of Macbeth, Duncan considers Macbeth not only an ally but a loyal friend. He is an honourable king who puts a lot of trust in Macbeth. Duncan’s naivety causes him to not realise Macbeth is an imposter, who seeks becoming king and killing Duncan. “What the Thane of Cawdor hath lost, Macbeth hath won (I.II.79).” In this quote King Duncan is referring to Macbeth as a noble man even though later he will be his murderer. “And Macbeth’s great love hath helped him to his home before us (I.VI.28)” In this quote Duncan believes Macbeth went home early to arrive before the king when really it is to plot out the murder. These are all examples of appearance vs. reality conflicts with Macbeth and King Duncan.

KING DUNCAN

THE WITCHES AND MACBETH The witches play an important role in the play because they set the tone of appearance vs. Reality from the very beginning. One of the famous quotes by them is “Fair is foul and foul is fair.” (I.I.10) This is the introduction to deceptiveness as well. The irony is how Macbeth trusts these witches and believes the prophecy will come true when he is actually being set up the entire time. The quote directly relates to how the story ends. The prophecy they tell Macbeth is another example of appearance vs. reality. The witches say that he will become the Thane of Cawdor, Glamis and will become the future king. They are telling him some truth without the final outcome. Macbeth believes the prophecy and is ready to do whatever it takes for it to come true. “All hail Macbeth, Hail to thee thane of Glamis. All hail Macbeth, Hail to thee thane of Cawdor. All hail Macbeth, that shalt be king hereafter.” (I.I.49-51) These are the prophecies that are told to Macbeth about his future. They are deceiving and all relate to the earlier quote “Fair is foul and foul is fair.” These are circumstances where the truth is being told without the final outcome included.

THE WITCHES

CONCLUSION Macbeth is a play full of examples of appearance vs. reality. The play is based on Macbeth’s guilty conscience and how things are not as they appear. Throughout it Macbeth endures a false prophecy, which is the initial cause of his death. He also endures intense visions that create a sense of guilt for Macbeth, this simply proves that his guilty conscience is affecting him and causing him to have odd hallucinations. Lastly, Macbeth and Duncan’s friendship proves that things are not as they appear because Duncan once thought of Macbeth as an honourable and noble man. In the end, Macbeth is a play that consists of false beliefs, guilt and betrayal. All of which relate to how things are not always as they appear in Macbeth.

MACBETH